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Tone Poet Blue Notes

I've been quite selective but the fact that I don't seem to have bought anything approach a dud makes me think I should have another look at the ones I skipped.

I don’t think there are any TP duds as such, but there are a fair few I wouldn’t want.

Maybe there should be a Not Recommended Records thread. Mind you, it would probably be colossal.
 
I've been quite selective but the fact that I don't seem to have bought anything approach a dud makes me think I should have another look at the ones I skipped.

Ditto - I originally was pretty selective as well - i already have all the MM 45RPM and also the 50 acoustic sounds from the same period, but as I already had decent copies of pretty much everything that was being done by tone-poet I decided to only get things I had not already got, which is not much (i have all the LT series originals, for example), but recently the prices have been going a little crazy, and work was going well, so i decided to play catch up before prices became stupid, and now have 28 (ornette coleman counts as one! :)). The dozen or so i still want are still at normal retail, so not mad hurry....yet

The one I really missed out on was the Lee Morgan at the lighthouse - i know its not a tone poet, but I really wanted this and had it ordered at my local dealer, but Blue Note let him down and I missed it - damn. Keeping it on my wantlist but am not hopeful (Tony - take pity if one ever passes in front of you.... :))
 
The one I really missed out on was the Lee Morgan at the lighthouse - i know its not a tone poet, but I really wanted this and had it ordered at my local dealer, but Blue Note let him down and I missed it - damn. Keeping it on my wantlist but am not hopeful (Tony - take pity if one ever passes in front of you.... :))

Have you got the CD box? I bought that and I’m perfectly happy with it. To be honest I think I’d have been disappointed with the vinyl as the bass sound is just so poor (it is a naff experimental amplified acoustic bass, the amp mic’d up). The CD box gets you everything and sounds as good as it can (the other instruments are great, the tubby boxy amplified thrum of the bass is the only issue).
 
Have you got the CD box? I bought that and I’m perfectly happy with it. To be honest I think I’d have been disappointed with the vinyl as the bass sound is just so poor (it is a naff experimental amplified acoustic bass, the amp mic’d up). The CD box gets you everything and sounds as good as it can (the other instruments are great, the tubby boxy amplified thrum of the bass is the only issue).
no - I have downloaded from Amazon prime, so have a virtual copy, and have the original 2lp on Vinyl. Not bought a CD for about 3 years........
I did hear good things about the sound of the vinyl compared to the CD, but yes, its a live recording and certainly the bass is suspect on some tracks - as you say, i heard the bassist was experimenting with some form of amplification on some tracks, and it just did not work. I just think the music is superb, and would love it on vinyl
 
Sorry to say but the vinyl version sounds very good indeed. The bass sound is a bit 'off' but that's a function of that experimental instrument and not the recording. I think the box set is quite rare; my dealer had ordered 3 sets but only received one (which I took).

I have the 3 CD version issued years ago but the new vinyl sounds much better. The real question is, do you really need 12 records of live Lee Morgan, with many repeated tunes?
 
Discogs says I’ve got 28 of them, so I’m definitely missing some.
58 Tone Poets have been released to date so far if you count the Ornette box set as one.
Full list: https://store.bluenote.com/collections/tone-poet-series (the latest two are not realeased yet).

Of these I have 52 of them including the Ornette Box. As Graham says there are none that are complete duds either musically or in sound quality there is of course some variation. I passed on only six that I knew were just not to my taste. Some I also had as a CD not a great pressing of. I think realistically I could have passed on a few more but the FOMO prevailed as my resolve is weak and I wanted to see if I changed my mind about the music where I when hearing it as a well mastered and pressed Tone Poet version and in fairness (to myself ;)) this ha happened.

I have shown more restraint with the Classics series as in many cases I had more than good enough pressings, but that as weakened since they have been reverting more towards the BN80 earlier approach of lesser known classics than the known ‘warhorses’.
 
I have been giving a lot of turntable time to the Gerald Wilson Moment Of Truth recent Tone Poet release and this really is another great release both musically and for sound quality. Although not the greatest fan of big bands I was aware of this Wilson album and he is a really great arranger. He makes full use of the resources he has under his command for complex and at same time subtle effect. There are great solos, especially from Joe Pass, balanced against the full power of the orchestra. I hadn’t really heard of the recording engineer on this, Richard Black, but he has done an amazingly good job of balancing all the musicians and soloists here. How he manages to balance Joe Pass’s acoustic guitar against the whole orchestra on the track Teri and make it all sound right is really remarkable. Elsewhere you can still hear the soloist clearly and separately even with the full force of the band playing behind them. This must be one of the best big bands recordings on vinyl, at least in this pressing. I think my favourite tracks are Josefina and Latino on side two.

A slight word of caution though you really have to be generous with your use of the volume control to get the best from this as Joe Harley and Kevin Gray really seem to have taken a no compromise approach to this mastering with very little or no compression and no mid bass hump. If you try to listen at low volume it can sound a little congested and lacking in Bass weight, but give it ‘little wellie’, I was getting 95db peaks at about 3 metres from my speakers (I don’t think 85db peaks will hack this unless you listen near field) and it really opens out filling my room with sound and perfect separation of all the musicians in a large sound stage. The lower bass weight is then also added and you get a really good sense of a big band closeup, although in your room. Josefina is a really good example track that goes from almost whisper quiet at times to full force with a full use of the dynamic range. You also really then get a sense of ‘the body’ of Jack WIlson’s really well recorded piano in the left hand channel and the ringing tones of his upper notes when you increase the volume.

Another top rate Tone Poet at least for me both musically and for sonics. Perfectly flat and silent pressing as well even at high volume.
 
Hancock’s lovely modal playing (Euterpe) reminds me of another frequently overlooked personal favourite of his - Inventions and Dimensions. The MM is superb, and it was available as a BN80 a couple of years ago - probably still is.

.
Graham,
Your post made me pull out the inventions and Dimensions BN80, another Music Matters 2x45rpm I missed out on. You obviously have some really good ones, but the BN80 is of Inventions and Dimensions is no ‘poor relative’ here luckily as it sounds really good.

I had not played it for sometime and had forgotten this really is top rate Herbie playing and composition. Up there with Empyrean Isles and Maiden Voyage. It’s all superb, but Triangle is the favourite track for me.
 
Seems like Blue Note are taking full advantage of the popularity of the Tone Poet series by now auctioning off Test pressings of the earliest releases. You do get a sealed actual release version as well as the test pressing if you win. So for those who missed out on Wayne Shorter’s Etcetera and are prepared something exclusive :rolleyes:;):
https://store.bluenote.com/pages/auction?utm_campaign=214660_BNR - 6.15.22 Auction (Wayne Shorter)_231870_US&utm_medium=email&utm_source=dotmailer&dm_i=4YWU,4LMS,1YCQY3,MA2U,1

They'll soon be a charity supporting people with said affliction
 
Worth pointing out test pressings very seldom hold any value beyond a similar condition first pressing of the title unless they are an obviously different or withdrawn cut (e.g. a track was swapped, a different mix, something like the legendary ‘RL’ cut of LZII or whatever). That’s *way* over value as-is!
 
Worth pointing out test pressings very seldom hold any value beyond a similar condition first pressing of the title unless they are an obviously different or withdrawn cut (e.g. a track was swapped, a different mix, something like the legendary ‘RL’ cut of LZII or whatever). That’s *way* over value as-is!

I was just about to post exactly the same thing - $500 for a brand new testing pressing seems very high!

I really like buying test pressings just because they're a bit different. And in some cases they can have value - I sold a Napalm Death test pressing for approx x10 the regular release even though it was VG grade. I've seen Sonic Youth test pressings make $100s. It feels like a market that's quite hard to predict.
 
I really like buying test pressings just because they're a bit different. And in some cases they can have value - I sold a Napalm Death test pressing for approx x10 the regular release even though it was VG grade. I've seen Sonic Youth test pressings make $100s. It feels like a market that's quite hard to predict.

As you say they are very hard to predict outside of real collector markets (Beatles, Bowie etc) or a few outliers such as Sonic Youth. From an audiophile perspective they are attractive in that you can be sure they are fresh off a clean new pair of the first-press stampers, but personally I don’t assign them a premium and I have found them a tough sell in the past as obviously you tend not to get a cover/artwork. The ones supplied in release-ready artwork with promo inserts etc are very nice items and I view them as far more attractive than a typical white label in a plain sleeve with no info.
 
From an audiophile perspective they are attractive in that you can be sure they are fresh off a clean new pair of the first-press stampers

True - but there are also many rejected test pressings, rejected for a whole host of reasons (cut too high, cut too low, vinyl not high enough grade, inconsistent quality, etc). Probably not the case with these TPs though.
 
True - but there are also many rejected test pressings, rejected for a whole host of reasons (cut too high, cut too low, vinyl not high enough grade, inconsistent quality, etc). Probably not the case with these TPs though.

You can identify those from the matrix being different to the release version, and again they can have value depending on what was different. In most respects different equates to more valuable.
 
It all seems a bit over the top. I can’t see why Blue Note are doing it except for a bit more publicity for the series they can’t be desperate for the money even it it makes the couple of thousand dollars mark some are predicting. They may of course end up doing it more than once for even for the same release as it is usual for there to be at least 20 - 30 test pressings even if you take out the rejected ones. The more times you try it though the lower amount it will likely achieve and the lower onward value. As well as probably p**sing off the original winner.
 
Is this another bafflingly arcane diversion?:)

After banging on about the more composed/avant titles in the BN catalogue, I'm looking forward to both Burrell and Green (good name for a paint company) in October. Andy Warhol cover and all.
 


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